Criminal: Attempted Tax Fraud And Bra Rental Etiquette

Criminal Host Phoebe Judge tells WUNC's Eric Hodge about two new stories: One involving a scammer pretending to be an IRS agent, and the other, a last-minute bra rental.

It's been a busy month for the Criminal Podcast. Host Phoebe Judge and her producers recently returned from a 14-city tour across the U.S. and Canada.

"I think our favorite show was right here in Durham," said Phoebe, adding that she told stories on stage, but also did a magic trick.

Judge said the live show was a great opportunity to share some stories that are shorter than the ones featured in regular episodes. Two of those are on this week's podcast.

In one, we hear from comedian Dave Holmes, who received a voicemail that set his heart racing on his way out of the gym one evening. The caller said he was an IRS agent, and that Holmes was being sued. Holmes returned the call, and the voice told him he needed to wire $4,500 immediately, or he could have his accounts frozen and be arrested.

Holmes had been audited before, and this didn't sound right.

"I said, 'Wait a minute. It's been my understanding... that all your communication with me needs to take place through my tax preparer.' And they were like, 'Well, we called him.' And I was like, 'Oh, it's a her.' And I was like, 'Did you? 'Cause she didn't try to get a hold of me, and I'm pretty sure she would.'"

Holmes realized the agent was a scammer and decided to turn the tables. He pretended to panic, and asked them for instructions to send them money.

Holmes sat in his car, making noises to convince scammers he had deposited the money at a bank. Just when the scammers thought they had him, he let them know he was onto them.

"This is the dumbest, most transparent scam in the world," he told them. "And someday, somebody's gonna come at you with something like this and you're gonna fall for it... You're not good at scamming, and you should stop."

In the second story this episode, Judge spoke with a retired attorney in Louisiana. (This 80-year-old woman has asked to remain anonymous.) She had driven out to the remote Angola Prison to visit a criminal she felt sorry for. But the guards wouldn't let her in because she was wearing a denim jacket, and denim was prohibited by the dress code.

Judge said the attorney told the guards she couldn't take off the jacket because she wasn't wearing a bra that day. The guards insisted all women must wear bras.

They lawyer said it had been a long drive on a hot day and she didn't want to make the trip in vain, so she set about trying to find a bra for the visit. There were no stores around, so she hatched a plan: to go to the post office and see if a female employee might lend her one.

You can hear more about these hijinks on the latest episode of the Criminal podcast. It's recorded in the studios of WUNC.

Related Content

Criminal Host Phoebe Judge tells WUNC's Eric Hodge about how Melinda Dawson's detective work helped exonerate her husband after he was convicted of killing her mother and attacking her niece.

On the last Criminal podcast, we heard from Melinda Dawson. She learned as a girl that her parents had secretly purchased her from a man called Dr. Hicks at his Georgia clinic. Dawson and her mother, Judy, became outspoken about the realities of life as a so-called "Hicks Baby."

Criminal podcast host Phoebe Judge tells WUNC's Eric Hodge about Melinda Dawson, who learned her parents purchased her from a doctor when they learned they could not have a child of their own. Criminal is recorded at WUNC.

People can become parents in the usual ways: by birth, by marriage and by adoption. But in this week's Criminal podcast, we hear from Melinda Dawson, who learned as a girl that her parents had secretly purchased her from a clinic doctor many miles away.

Criminal Podcast Host Phoebe Judge updates WUNC's Eric Hodge on some of the favorite characters in the show's 50 episodes.

The Criminal podcast focuses on stories of people who have done wrong, been wronged or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. The 50th episode is checking in with some of the show's most memorable guests. Criminal is recorded here at WUNC. Host Phoebe Judge reached out to Criminal listeners and asked them to decide which stories to follow up on.